Hi everyone

Please find attached a Press Release re Avian Influenza Prevention Zone declared for the whole of England.

Consumer scam alerts - Norfolk County Council   This website gives information on numerous scams that are currently circulating and on rogue traders.  

Britain's scam epidemic has sadly continued apace in 2024, with more innocent victims being fleeced out of their cash and with the rise of AI making fraud ever more difficult to spot, more people could fall foul of them in 2025.  Some 79 per cent of 1,200 experts surveyed by fraud prevention firm GBG said they had seen a significant increase in the sophistication of scam attacks over the past year. The same goes for buyers asking you to post items before they pay, as you could find that you never receive the promised payment.

Impersonation Scams

Perhaps the most familiar of the scams on this list, impersonation scams see fraudsters contacting victims masquerading as 'trusted' sources of information.  In many cases, this means emails, text messages or phone calls pretending to be from a victim's bank, the police or delivery companies and utility providers. Often these scams ask for payment, such as unpaid delivery fees, or for personal and financial details.

With the deadline for tax returns now overdue, scammers are also pretending to be His Majesty's Revenue & Customs. If you receive such a call, contact HMRC directly. You should avoid responding to the demands, sharing personal information or clicking on any links.

Fraudsters are looking to fleece music fans

The summer of 2024 saw a packed schedule of live events, with music and sports fans flocking to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, the Paris Olympics and the Euros. This also provided rich pickings for scammers flogging counterfeit tickets for these events.  Scammers are likely to continue to target live events, with fans willing to shell out huge sums to watch their favourite artists and sports teams in action. To avoid falling victim to a scammer, those looking to buy tickets for these events need to make sure they only purchase tickets from verified sites – regardless of how good the offer is. While there are legitimate ticket resale websites, individuals offering you tickets for a sold-out tour should be treated with caution. 

Facebook Marketplace Scams

Tools like Facebook Marketplace can be incredibly useful when clearing out clutter or getting a good deal on a pre-used item. Especially after Christmas, many will turn to the social media site to give unwanted gifts a new home. But unfortunately, scammers are lurking. According to Metro Bank, scammers are likely to offer goods on the site that don't actually exist. 'In the last 12 months we have seen an increase in fraudulent merchants offering goods for sale at attractive prices and then convincing the customers to purchase,' Metro Bank said.

Often fraudulent sellers will try to lure you in using offers that might be too good to be true. They will then ask you to pay by card before you collect them, and leave you empty handed. In order to avoid such scams, try to only pay on collection of items, ensuring that you are getting what you expect.

The same goes for buyers asking you to post items before they pay, as you could find that you never receive the promised payment.

Fraudsters are impersonating engineers from BT to con Britons worried about the nationwide landline switch-off into handing over their payment details. The scam plays on fears around the January 2025 deadline for the transition from traditional copper phone lines to broadband-powered landlines across the UK. 

Crucially, this is not a Government scheme or deadline, with the timeline being proposed by the industry itself as they were struggling to find parts to maintain and repair analogue phone lines as few companies are still making the components used by this 100-year-old system. But it’s not just about the nuts and bolts to keep landlines working. As you already know if you’ve used WhatsApp to chat to someone on the other side of the planet, all-digital calls can offer much clearer calls, especially over longer distances. Not only that, but features you would usually associate with your mobile phone, like blocking calls from withheld numbers or putting incoming calls in a queue when you’re already talking on the phone, are all possible with these broadband-powered landlines.

Best wishes

Angela Money BEM

Chair of Newbury Neighbourhood Watch and

Area Representative for West Berkshire Neighbourhood Watch